The Datong Heyang Art Museum launched an exhibition entitled "Great Chinese Artist – Xu Beihong's Painting Exhibition" on August 20, in the city of Datong, Shanxi province. The exhibition will last for 20 days until Sept 10. Xu's wife, Liao Jingwen, and their son, Xu Qingping, attended the opening ceremony.

Sixty pieces of Xu's original work are on display, including items finished in different periods of his painting career. These paintings are not only traditional Chinese ink paintings, but also oil paintings, watercolor paintings and sketches.

This is the first exhibit of its kind as it also presents more than 200 pieces of calligraphy and paintings done by artists from 12 other countries, including Singapore and Japan. The show is organized by the Datong municipal people’s government and the Xu Beihong Memorial Museum. It has attracted various leaders including Dan Jixiang, president of the National Palace Museum.

Xu was a key figure in 20th century Chinese art and the acclaimed father of modern Chinese painting. Xu started learning Chinese painting from his father, Xu Dazhang, and traveled overseas to study art and oil painting. He is famous for creating a new style of Chinese painting by blending old traditions with modern Western techniques.

By Li Xiaonan